2026 Lanka Premier League players' draft
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The 2026 Lanka Premier League was the 6th edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league held in Sri Lanka, organised by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). It has been held annually since the first edition in 2020 with the exception of 2025.[1] In January 2026, the SLC announced that instead of an auction a players' draft would be held ahead of the 2026 season.[2] The players' draft was originally scheduled for 22 March 2026[3] but was postponed to 1 June 2026.[4] Overseas player registrations commenced on 8 May[5] and over 650 players from 21 countries registered for the draft and 310 were shortlisted.[6] Twenty players including ten overseas players were directly signed before the draft. A total of 77 players including 25 overseas players were signed in the draft.
| 2026 Lanka Premier League players' draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Cricket |
| Date | 1 June 2026 |
| Time | 14:30 (SLST) |
| Location | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Overview | |
| 77 total selections in 10 rounds | |
| League | 2026 Lanka Premier League |
| Teams | 5 |
| Most selections | 16 each by Colombo Kaps Galle Gallants Kandy Royals |
| Fewest selections | 14 by Dambulla Sixers |
Pre-draft direct signings
Each team was allowed to sign two Icon players and two Star players, one of each being a domestic player and the other an overseas player, with the salary caps of US$60,000 to US$80,000.[7][8] The SLC initially required the Icon and Star players to have more than 250,000 social media followers[9] which was subject to criticism[10] and the rule was subsequently withdrawn.[11]
| Player category | Salary cap | Colombo Kaps | Dambulla Sixers | Galle Gallants | Jaffna Kings | Kandy Royals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Icon | US$60,000 – US$80,000 | Kusal Mendis | Dushmantha Chameera | Dasun Shanaka | Bhanuka Rajapaksa | Wanindu Hasaranga |
| Domestic Star | US$60,000 – US$80,000 | Kamindu Mendis | Dinesh Chandimal | Eshan Malinga | Dunith Wellalage | Angelo Mathews |
| Overseas Icon | US$60,000 – US$80,000 | James Neesham | Sahibzada Farhan | Rassie van der Dussen | Shakib Al Hasan | Moeen Ali |
| Overseas Star | US$60,000 – US$80,000 | Ben McDermott | Reeza Hendricks | Litton Das | Taskin Ahmed | Vijay Shankar |
Players' draft
Each team was required to sign at least 14 players, with a maximum of 16 players under 10 categories, including 5 overseas players in 4 categories. One overseas player had to be from an associate country while two domestic players had to be under the age of 23.[12][13][14]
| Player category | Salary | Colombo Kaps | Dambulla Sixers | Galle Gallants | Jaffna Kings | Kandy Royals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | US$50,000 | Mujeeb Ur Rahman | Fazalhaq Farooqi | Mohammad Nawaz | David Wiese | Rahmanullah Gurbaz |
| Gold | US$30,000 | Shahnawaz Dahani | Mohammad Wasim Jr. | Akif Javed | Ibrahim Zadran | Daniel Sams |
| Classic | US$20,000 each | Mohammad Haris | Gulbadin Naib | Sam Harper | Sandeep Lamichhane | Dale Phillips |
| Hasan Mahmud | Dian Forrester | Mehidy Hasan Miraz | Lizaad Williams | Zahir Khan | ||
| Associate Star | US$15,000 | Kushal Bhurtel | Shadley van Schalkwyk | Haider Ali | Dipendra Singh Airee | Brandon McMullen |
Withdrawn players
| Player | Team | Category | Reason | Withdrawal announcement date |
Replacement player | Signing date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Kandy Royals | Overseas Platinum | National duty | 4 June 2026 | Sediqullah Atal | 8 July 2026 | [15] |
| Haider Ali | Galle Gallants | Associate Star | National duty | 16 June 2026 | Virandeep Singh | 16 June 2026 | [16] |
| Dian Forrester | Dambulla Sixers | Overseas Classic | Participating in GSL | 19 June 2026 | Marques Ackerman | 19 June 2026 | [17] |
| Mohammad Haris | Colombo Kaps | Overseas Classic | Participating in GSL | 1 July 2026 | Rubin Hermann | 1 July 2026 | [18] |
| Dipendra Singh Airee | Jaffna Kings | Associate Star | National duty | 8 July 2026 | Zahoor Khan | 8 July 2026 | [19] |
| Rassie van der Dussen | Galle Gallants | Overseas Icon | Personal reasons | 9 July 2026 | Chris Lynn | 11 July 2026 | [20] |
| Daniel Sams | Kandy Royals | Overseas Gold | Personal reasons | 11 July 2026 | Shaheen Shah Afridi | 12 July 2026 | [21] |
| Litton Das | Galle Gallants | Overseas Star | Left calf injury | 14 July 2026 | Nurul Hasan | 15 July 2026 | [22] |
| Kusal Mendis | Colombo Kaps | Domestic Icon | Hamstring injury | 22 July 2026 | Ashen Bandara | 24 July 2026 | [23] |
| Taskin Ahmed | Jaffna Kings | Overseas Star | National duty | 23 July 2026 | Tawhid Hridoy | 23 July 2026 | [24] |
| Vishen Halambage | Kandy Royals | Domestic Classic | Hamstring injury | 25 July 2026 | Kavija Gamage | 25 July 2026 | [23] |
| Hasan Mahmud | Colombo Kaps | Overseas Classic | National duty | 27 July 2026 | Ripon Mondol | 27 July 2026 | [23] |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | Dambulla Sixers | Overseas Platinum | National duty | 27 July 2026 | Sikandar Raza | 27 July 2026 | [25][23] |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | Galle Gallants | Overseas Classic | National duty | 31 July 2026 | Tom Rogers | 31 July 2026 | [26] |
| Brandon McMullen | Kandy Royals | Associate Star | National duty | 1 August 2026 | N/a | [27] | |
| Ibrahim Zadran | Jaffna Kings | Overseas Gold | National duty | 1 August 2026 | Khawaja Nafay | 1 August 2026 | [27] |
| Moeen Ali | Kandy Royals | Overseas Icon | Domestic commitments | 1 August 2026 | N/a | [28][27] | |
| Sediqullah Atal | Kandy Royals | Overseas Platinum | National duty | 1 August 2026 | N/a | [27] | |
